A new set of images claiming to represent the so-called fourth-generation iPhone, also dubbed the iPhone HD, has appeared online. By the looks of it, the next iPhone is a rehash of the existing candybar design.

The screen looks a bit taller, falling somewhere in the 3.7-inch range, perhaps to accommodate more pixels. Several angled shots suggest a possible front-facing camera for videoconferencing, another highly anticipated feature of the next iPhone. The device might sport an aluminum or ceramic back designed to let radio waves pass through it, according to an Apple patent, in addition to a flat stainless steel bezel running around its profile.

Other than that, it looks very much like the existing iPhone 3GS. Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky wrote the following:

A source – who confirms this is the next Apple iPhone – also tells us that the device apparently does have a higher res screen on-board, a front-facing camera, a higher resolution camera with flash, and takes MicroSIM cards (that’s the little “button” around the side you see in the Twitpic which is floating around the Internet).

Engadget claims those images belong to a prototype iPad set, apparently from an Apple test lab, that the publication posted the night before the tablet was officially unveiled. A MacRumors forum member added to the discovery with a set of images from Chinese site WeiPhone that allegedly represents the interior of the device.

Christian’s Opinion

I have issues with the case design depicted on those shots (though AppleInsider thinks they’re real), especially with the flat bezel that now runs across the entire profile of the device. While it lends the device a somewhat more masculine look, it just doesn’t feel like the work of Jonathan Ive, Apple’s design guru. For all we know, this design could be just a part of a bunch of iterations that Apple is considering for the next iPhone.

Also note that Apple is known to leak fake designs in order to confuse the media and hunt down its own employees who disseminate company secrets. I, for one, hope that the next iPhone is prettier from the outside than what we’re seeing here.

What do you say, are those shots doctored? Does the exterior represent the real thing? Share your opinion in the comment section.

Update – 11:26a – by Sal Cangeloso – Gizmodo just dropped a huge post on this. They have a hands-on video of the iPhone pictured above as well as full-sized images. What’s more is that they’ve been playing with it for “about a week” and are convinced it’s real.